Got Me Sayin’ ICHIBAN-desu !!! (Ichiban Boshi @ Pavilion, KL)
December 15, 2008 | 1,868 viewsBack to a KL post for today. A slow …. soul-less Monday. Imagine an office with less than 50% capacity. Maybe 20-30% inhabitants only. Holidays come early for most?
Not unlike the conventional conveyor belt sushi outlet … albeit with a twistEating out in Pavilion can be a chore. Especially peak hours on weekends/public holidays where everywhere’s crowded. From Madam Kwan’s to Tony Roma’s, and a snaking line (though not as obvious as few months back) at JCo’s, and the ever-congested Food Republic, choosing a place for lunch can be rather … indecisive.
Thus, we settled for Ichiban Boshi. Have yet to step into the Japanese restaurant, but judging from the overwhelming business on most days, can’t be any worse than Sushi King/Sakae Sushi/Genki Sushi right?
Salmon (smoked, maybe) sushi with melted cheese and roes
Salmon Avocado RollStarting off with some sushi, the salmon and cheese combination may sound weird on paper, but worked just fine. The creamy cheese complemented the smoked salmon well, though one can’t really taste the freshness and natural sweetness of the fish. But I’m all for fusion-ized items.
The salmon and avocado temaki roll was good, though sucked presentation-wise. Clever combination of diced fresh salmon with creamy avocado bits and served generously with mayonaise, the portion was slightly larger than the other contenders’ abysmal, mini versions. Still remember the last time I had a temaki in Sushi King, and the rice outweighed the fillings by a whole lot.
Egg Crepe Roll with Bacon and LettuceA case of ‘over-fusionized’, the temaki rolled with thin egg layer, and consisting of rice, lettuce and bacon did not fare as well. And dipping the roll into the shoyu did not result in a positive outcome either. Probably should have asked for more mayo instead.
Hiyashi Chuka Soba (RM14.90)Ichiban Boshi’s trump card lies in their freshly made-on-the-spot soba, or buckwheat noodles. The display counter at the front end of the restaurant functions to exhibit the chef’s skills in making the aforementioned noodles, but photography is not allowed. =(
Served either cold, or in a bowl of piping hot soup, the noodles are springy, light, and deemed nutritious. The Hiyashi Chuka Soba consisted of cold buckwheat noodles served with duck meat, crab stick, julienned cucumber and tomatoes, as well as eggs. A bowl of cold and spicy sauce accompanied the serving of noodles on the side, hence you have the option of either dipping the noodles into the sauce, OR pouring the whole bowl of sauce into the noodles. I did the latter, and the resulting concoction had me smacking my lips in recollection.
Thin, springy (QQ) buckwheat noodles with multiple garnishing and ingredients thrown in
The strips of duck meat were not chewy, nor gamey. Sprinkled with lots of sesame seeds, the shredded meat and vegetables were perfect companion to the cold noodles, and the slightly spicy and sour sauce enhanced the overall experience a notch. Recommended, for the noodles alone.
Tempura Moriawase (RM13.90)A plate of mixed tempura consisted of 2 big prawns, and the usual suspects of sweet potato, brinjal, capsicum and such, coated with tempura batter and fried to a crisp. Yet, managed to retain the moisture of the ingredients within. Nothing out of the ordinary, but deserving of a mention here is the attentive and accomodating service, whereby I requested for another bowl of the tentsuyu sauce, and the waiter gladly complied, returning with a steaming hot bowl of it.
Kushiyaki Moriawase (RM15.90) for 6 pcsThe mixed grilled items on skewers came on a sparsely-presented plate. With a lemon wedge for that extra zing, the 6 pcs of grilled meat/vege on skewers were lip-smacking, mostly. The shishamo (grilled smelt) was packed with enough eggs, yet none of the repulsive fishy taste. The yakitori and black pepper yakitori (grilled chicken meat) were both tender, succulent and juicy enough on its own, but drizzled with the slightly sweet tare sauce, the flavour of the meat was subtly punctuated.
The tsukune (chicken meatballs) were the best of the lot, marinated well and very tasty. But only 3 were served on a skewer. Of course, one can opt for the items separately. The shitake mushrooms and tebasaki (chicken wings) were good in their own rights.
What’s attractive was that …. it didn’t cost us an arm and a leg to eat here. The meal for two costed only RM67.50 (after 5% gov tax, 10% service charge). I may return for more, in the near future, as they gave a Rewards Card, expiring on 30/4/2009, where I can get a stamp for every RM30 spent, and 3 stamps net a California Handroll, 5 will net you a RM15 voucher … and so forth.
Location : ICHIBAN BOSHI @ Lot 1.14, Pavilion, 168, Jln Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. On the lowest floor with Food Republic and the infinite eateries there. Tel : 603-2141 6621.
Merry Xmas …. in Advance.
Shopaholics out in full force. No holding back amidst the economic crisis. Or was there ever one?
nice sharing, ya! Really worth trying, value for money, being at Pavilion…must check it out!!
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U HAVE your mini Japan at Pavillion too, that a nice mean meal u had. Cos u no arm no leg and NO FLIGHT too…..icing on the cream !!
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ohh.. i really liked this place.. soba n the grilled items on skewers is my muz order everytime I’m there!
Their sushi beats other plc’s too.
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yup the food here is quite decent..if u r willing to splurge..the tip to eat in peace is having to eat upstairs haha..which means paying a bomb!
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quite interesting hor. that bacon looks suspiciously unporky though…. is it masquerading as pork? how come your office so quiet?
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i enjoyed this place too… though i had a set of rather different food from yours.
wah so many ppl clearing leave huh? Merry X’mas to you too 🙂
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Woohoooo… really nice food! The salmon avocado roll is so tempting *slurp*
Really good deal especially with the rewards card 🙂
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love the deco at pavillion..fd republic is alwiz freaking pack during lunch time coz poor OL like us cant afford ichiban boshi :p
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The “tree” outside Pavilion is… *speechless* doesn’t look like a Christmas tree…
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yeah, this is a really popular chain, especially in singapore. the queues can be extremely long!
hehe, i like a quiet office. 😉
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SimpleGirl : rather cheap, for Pavilion’s standards, when a plate of Thye Hong’s fried prawn mee=RM7!
Jencooks : aiya, you digesting the REAL thing, come here and tease me eh? hehe …
thenomadGourmand : their soba is top notch, for restaurants of this setting.
Joe : upstairs all pricey lah … imagine a meal at Kampachi, the same items would cost probably 2-3 folds!
FBB : office everyone went out. working lah, not reli holidaying. YET. wait til its MY turn …muahaha
jasmine : the last week of Dec will see everyone revealing their true self. going off like nobody’s bizness … yours truly included, of course.
Selba : yeah, but me being in Ipoh, kinda hard to get all 15 slots stamped!
Kampungboycitygal : Ichiban Boshi is NOT expensive lah … like Sushi King only, but better in terms of quality. 🙂
jason : it’s … futuristic right? the exact same tree like last yr’s Xmas celeb, when they put it inside, and singers caroling all around the tree.
Nic : oh, so this is from S’pore also. wah … Pavilion like being taken over by Spore eateries. Food republic, MOF and now this.
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The Japanese food looks a bit fusion. But who cares when it taste good and affordable. 🙂
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hey I was here as well, last Saturday 13th Dec. We ordered the premium meals, nothing soba though because we don’t like it. taste wise it was pretty good and price is reasonable as well considering it was in Pavilion. Sushi was a bit disappointment though
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hmm.. chicken balls are hardly the thing i would go for in a jap joint.. but dats just me
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email2me : yeah, the price sets it apart from most.
vkeong : this was sometime in Nov though. hehe … but had I bumped into you, we may not recognized each other also lah ..except the fact we both snap our food.
cumi & ciki : me too. but since they came in a platter of 6, why not? 🙂
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yeahh..agree on the Sg food chains in Pavilion remark, cos Chewy Jrs are frm Sg too.
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thenomadGourmand : your post on those Chewy JRs made me crave for them …. haha.
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oh.. price like sushi king?? not too expensive then, affordable… look yummy too… hmmmm…. muz go and have a try lo… 🙂
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KCA : yeah, rather reasonable. but Sushi Zanmai also ok.
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Ichiban Boshi,many types of sushi available though, like chicken floss sushi kinda impressed me and my japanese friend…this whole lot better than “sushi king” less option.
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After i read this post,i went to Ichiban and tried.The food really nice! Everyone loves it! will go back there again! Food serve very fast and the waiter all very nice 🙂
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I’m gone to tell my little brother, that he should also visit this webpage on regular basis to obtain updated from most recent reports.
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